The Husband doesn’t go on trips by himself often, so when he does, I try to do something fun and girly. This weekend, I had a few friends over to make our own tea blends.

We had green and black teas as a base and I went crazy on the mix ins, so we had a ton of things to try. I have a lot left over, so I think my tea drinker friends will be getting some homemade tea blends in Christmas boxes.

Oddly, I found a lot of the fancy mixers at Marshalls. I had gone in on a whim and came out with dried hibiscus flowers, dried apricots, cacao nibs, and organic unsweetened shredded coconut.

I also found more dog treats than Fancy could ever eat, but was restrained and only came out with two bags. I have a problem wanting to spoil her to make her forget about her life as a rescue dog. I tend to open all of her treats at once. Drives the Husband nuts, but I just can’t resist her little face. Can you really blame me?

Anyway, back to tea… I had the privilege to use a teapot and tea cups that were from my Grandma Shirley, my Dad’s mom. The teapot plays music when you lift it up to pour and it charmed my friends. I have fantastic memories of having tea parties with my Grandma and feeling so grown up.

My lovely friend, Kim sent me the cute tea mat, it has a pink teapot on it as well and matches perfectly with my teapot and my tablecloth.

It looks quite intimidating to piece, but we may have to try to figure it out. I also used adorable napkins that I got from my brother and sister-in-law for Christmas. They have tea mugs and cups on them. I have been saving them for just the right occasion!

I have never made my own teas before. I intended on drying some herbs from my containers, but they weren’t quite what I needed them to be yet, so I think the Christmas blends will have them instead.

I used a few different recipes for the basis for the blends, but really, we just picked our own things to try and then put them in an infuser. I have quite a collection of silly tea infusers and had to narrow it down to the ones that would fit in the tea cups. I also had bag filters, as one of the black tea blends was a little small.

This is the “deep T diver” infuser. He is one of my favorites.

Not pictured are the “T-tanic” ship, the T-rex, the Tardis from Dr. Who, and the rubber ducky.

Here are two of the sites I used for tea blend ideas. I looked at a bunch more, which are saved to the blog’s Pinterest page under Not So 50’s Housewife.

Make Your Own Looseleaf Tea – all natural!

http://snip.ly/uq4tr?utm_content=buffer8de02&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer#http://adelightfulhome.com/diy-tea-recipes/

I tried some new food recipes too.

We had cucumber sandwiches, deviled eggs- made by Crystal, lemon bars, strawberries and cream, baba gannouj with carrots, and rosemary shortbread cookies. We also had an orange and fennel salad.

The full mix in list was dried strawberries, apricots, and apples, cacao nibs, coconut, and hibiscus flowers. Spices/herbs were lavender, cloves, allspice, orange peel, cinnamon sticks, and star anise. My house smelled amazing!

Here are the recipes I used.

1- Sunshine Bars from Retro Beach Bash by Linda Everett. 

These were very good. Perfectly gooey and delicious. I will keep these in mind when I want something lemony.

2- Rosemary Shortbread Cookies from Celtic Teas With Friends by Elizabeth Knight. Section: November/Housewarming Tea

Although delicate in terms of handling, these were in no way delicate in flavor. The rosemary is a surprising touch, but one that worked out very well. I want to try them with a little bit of lemon too. My rosemary is growing really well, so it’s fun to go out and snip a few sprigs of it when I need it.

3- Orange and Fennel Picnic Jars from The Vintage Tea Party Year by Angel Adoree. Section: Picnic Tea Party

I liked it. I don’t know if the Husband would, so I may not make it again. It’s nice and refreshing though.

I am trying to make myself realize that smaller parties are fun too and that I don’t have to go crazy with the food. It may take a while, but I think I’ll get there eventually. This party was lovely and I’m glad I was able to have it.

Now, sadly, it’s off to the real world for me, but I am going to try to have a cup of tea at the office and remember to relax. I hope your week goes smoothly!